Reflect in a Dream
by Veronica The Mischievous
Summary: When tragedy hits us some can only cope by locking parts of themselves away. Hiding their true feelings from the world and wear a mask. After an attempt to stop a robbery, Kotetsu is forced to face choices and issues that he thought were long since buri
1. Intro

**Title:** Reflect in a Dream  
**Chapter:** Introduction  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** 479  
**Pairing:** A couple mentioned pairings, nothing more.  
**Topic:** Facing one's self  
**Type:** "What if...?", Based sometime post series (Spoiler warning)  
**Genre:** General  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Tiger & Bunny.  
**VTM:** Okay, second attempt at a Tiger & Bunny fic. This was an idea that's been swarming around in my head for a bit. It should be fairly short, nothing too big chapter wise. Warning, I'm still new at writing for this fandom, here we go! It's show time!

-o-o-

Kotetsu wasn't fully sure how it all started. He was at the local convenience store, going to pick up a six pack of beer. He was heading for the check out when he had suddenly heard the screams. He rushed over to help of course, and instinctively tried to activate his 'hundred power' ability. Only to suddenly remember that he had lost his powers completely just a few days ago.

It was then that a bullet suddenly hit him, he stumbled, and finally met with the cold, linoleum floor. The noises of the robbery slowed, and soon sounded garbled, almost like he was submerged underwater. It wasn't too long before everything went black as Kotetsu finally lost consciousness.

It almost felt like he was falling, plummeting from some great height. Kotetsu couldn't help but wonder if this was what death was like. While one could argue that he did 'die' once before, the memory of the experience was really fuzzy. But this was definitely different from that time. Was he plummeting straight into Hell?

"Huh...!" Kotetsu's eyes snapped open. He found himself staring up at skies that were grey with what looked something like rainclouds. Kotetsu stared for a few moments, wondering what had happened. He thought he remembered getting shot, but not leaving the convenience store.

Kotetsu forced himself to sit up, he then looked himself over, he was dressed in a black suit, it was oddly familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen it before. He didn't remember wearing it when he went out to the store. But Kotetsu didn't have much time to think on it either, as he felt a throb of pain. "Ugh...!" His breath hitched in his throat, with the suddenness of it.

"You okay mister...?" said a young voice.

Panting slightly, Kotetsu looked up, and saw a young boy standing before him. He gave a confused blink, the kid wasn't there a moment ago.

"Mister, are you hurt?" The boy asked.

Kotetsu then noticed the pain had died down, he felt around his body for any obvious wounds, but couldn't find anything. "N-no...I guess..."

The kid gave a concerned look. "...Yes you are. Don't you remember?"

Kotetsu canted his head to the side. Looking at the boy made him a little uneasy, there was something that made his presence surreal in a way.

"You're in some big trouble, huh?" The boy said suddenly. "I guess that's why you're here, right?" he then smiled. "I kind of missed you."

"Missed me? What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember? You locked me and he others away...After she died."

"What are you talking abou-" It was then that Kotetsu fully realized that the boy standing before him was the exact image of himself when he was ten years old. "Who are you? And where the hell am I?"

-End of Intro-


	2. Chapter 1

**Title:** Reflect in a Dream  
**Chapter** Child's Point of View  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** 850  
**Pairing:** Mentioned Pairings  
**Topic:** Facing one's self  
**Type:** "What if...?", Based sometime post series (Spoiler warning)  
**Genre:** General  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Tiger & Bunny.  
**VTM:** Okay, second attempt at a Tiger & Bunny fic. Still new at this shit, so here we go! It's show time!

-o-o-

The dirt road seemed to be in an area that Kotetsu recognized. It was not too far from the river and the place where he would wait for the bus as a kid. It was a place he hung out a lot around when he was little. "Is this some kind of memory?"

"Sort of, it's your own mind, so it can be anything that we want it to be." Kid Kotetsu explained.

"That would explain why there's suddenly a giant bottle of mayonnaise floating in the sky." Older Kotetsu said as he pointed upward.

And just as he had said, there in the sky was a giant bottle of mayonnaise, floating gently along amongst the clouds. It seemed so out of place, yet it just oddly fit for Kotetsu at the same time.

"Ah, well, I am kind of hungry..." Kid Kotetsu said with a sheepish laugh.

Kotetsu couldn't help but give a small smile. But his thoughts didn't allow it to stay for long. "Why am I here? Did I die?"

"I don't think so, but I don't really know. I guess you do kind of look like a ghost...So maybe we really did die." Kid Kotetsu said thoughtfully. He then walked past Kotetsu and headed towards the river.

"I what?" Kotetsu followed after his younger self. "What do you mean I "look like a ghost"?"

Kid Kotetsu stopped in his tracks, he then turned and pointed at his older self. "You look like you're kind of dead."

"Well I **DID** get shot." Kotetsu said with a slight huff. "I made a stupid mistake getting involved."

Kid Kotetsu canted his head to the side, he had an unimpressed look on his face. "Oi, oi, what kind of talk is that? You're a hero, I never would have said that."

"Hmph, you never thought that that you'd ever lose your powers." Older Kotetsu added. "I remember when I was your age, I would have given anything to have been normal again."

"Yep, I remember. I lost a lot of friends when I got them." Kid Kotetsu then went to the river's edge. He then began picking some stones. "But then Mr. Legend gave me something to look forward to."

Older Kotetsu gave an almost tired sigh. "...And look how he ended up."

Kid Kotetsu rolled his eyes and shook his head. Did he really grow up to be **this guy**? "You're really negative, you know that?"

"It's not like I have to hide what I really think or feel here, right?" Older Kotetsu shoved his hands into his suit's pockets and headed closer to the river. "It's not like I could hide things from you, even if I wanted to."

"We always did like to hide things from people, huh?" Kid Kotetsu said as he started skipping stones across the river's surface. "Sometimes it makes things a little easier, right?"

"Yeah, it does sometimes." Older Kotetsu said as he sat down by the river's edge. He could see a little of his own reflection in the water. But he couldn't get a clear enough look at it thanks o the stones that kept disturbing the water. "My problems are my own, no one else really needs to worry about them. I'm sure everyone else has their own issues that they have to deal with."

Kid Kotetsu frowned a little. "You know, sometimes it also hurts people. Remember how mad Barnaby would get?" He then threw another stone across the water's surface. "It's not always other people that you are thinking about either. Sometimes you just want to stop thinking about the problems yourself."

"Ignorance is bliss, right?" Kotetsu said as he watch the stones hop across the water.

"You're only dumb when you want to act like it." Kid Kotetsu said as he skipped the last stone he had. He then looked over at his older self. He noticed that the older Kotetsu seemed to have a pained look on his face. "You're hurting?"

"Y-yeah..." Older Kotetsu bit his lip. The throbbing pain began to subside. "

"So what are you going to do now? You might not have a lot of time left." Kid Kotetsu then walked over to his older self. "Are you going to let yourself die?"

"...I don't know if I have much choice on that matter." Kotetsu tried to give a small laugh. He suddenly noticed that the kid was glowing. "What are you doing?"

Kid Kotetsu then grabbed hold of his older self and hoisted him upward, he held the older man up above his head.

The older Kotetsu wriggled about. "Put me down damn it!"

Kid Kotetsu suddenly grinned mischievously. "Okay, you asked for it!" He then tossed the man outward towards the river.

"O-OI!" Kotetsu crashed into the water, but rather than being submerged in the murky depths he found himself falling through open sky. He screamed as the earth below him sped at him, catching the attention of a young man walking along the road below.

The teen looked up only to be greeted by the plummeting Kotetsu. "W-What the...!

-The End-


End file.
